: The Invasion of Ukraine Hasn’t Loosened Vladimir Putin’s Grip on Power. It Might Have Done the Opposite #WorldNEWS President Biden and senior U. S. officials have openly questioned Vladimir Putin’s

The Invasion of Ukraine Hasn’t Loosened Vladimir Putin’s Grip on Power. It Might Have Done the Opposite #WorldNEWS
President Biden and senior U. S. officials have openly questioned Vladimir Putin’s leadership as Russia reels from economic sanctions and battlefield failures. Newly declassified U. S. intelligence has described Putin as increasingly isolated, unable to get accurate reports from the war in Ukraine, and frustrated with his military leaders.
Yet in briefings to President Biden, U. S. intelligence officials have said there are no signs that the fallout from the war has loosened Putins grip on Russia, according to two U. S. officials familiar with those assessments. In fact, experts say, theres evidence that Putin has used the war to further consolidate power, at least in the short term.
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As the war drags on, Putin has intensified his long-running battle to crack down on opposing voices within Russia. Putin signed into law a measure which effectively criminalizes independent reporting that deviates from the government line, even banning the use of the word “war” in news broadcasts about Ukraine, which led to the closure of independent Russian media outlets. Russian authorities have arrested thousands who spoke out against the invasion. The protests within Russia have been smaller during the war than the ones that broke out in 2018 over pension reforms, says a U. S. government official—a sign that the crackdown on domestic dissent has had a chilling effect.
U. S. intelligence officials have also assessed that Putin has thwarted the emergence of potential successors. The longevity of his reign is partially attributable to the absence of a clear No. 2 waiting in the wings, say experts, who point out there hasn’t been an organic succession of power in Russia since President Boris Yeltsin left office at the end of 1999.
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There are few mechanisms available within Russia to remove Putin from power. It seems “unrealistic” to expect Russian business elites to work together with the Russian military to remove Putin, says Rita Konaev, an expert on the Russian military at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Civil society has been ground down by arrests, harassment and threats from the Kremlin. Reformists inside the government “don’t exist,” Konaev says.
Nor is Russia’s poor military performance in Ukraine guaranteed to weaken Putin’s standing. Military losses in Russia have rarely turned public opinion in the past, Konaev says, and can instead cause Russians to rally around the flag, particularly among families who have lost loved ones.